Luis Salazar is one of my all-time favorite Cubs. He was a mid-season acquisition by the Chicago Cubs in 1989 that put the Cubs over the top and and into the playoffs with his .325 batting average. Back in high school I had plans for starting a comic book called, "The Adventures of Luis and Domingo". (Domingo being Luis' sidekick on the Cubs, Domingo Ramos, of course.)

Just the other day my brother and I were wondering where Luis was imparting his great baseball knowledge nowadays. We both knew he was the first base coach for the Milwaukee Brewers a few years ago. Currently he is hitting coach for the Jacksonville Suns. In 1999, he was hitting coach for the then Louisville Riverbats (which since have been renamed as the Louisville Bats). I'm sure the city of Louisville is greatly honored to have Luis Salazar work in their town. In fact, I suggest they honor the greatness of Luis Salazar by renaming their town, Luisville.

Spudart's post about the Chicago Cubs' old jerseys made me curious about the history of their uniforms. I did a little google action on, "cubs uniforms throughout history" and came across this incredible ESPN article by Paul Lukas published just last week. If you're fan of the Cubs, baseball, design or nostaglia, then you absolutley must read this article.

Lukas discusses how the Chicago Cubs are the definitive pioneers in baseball uniform design. He gives 10 (it's actually 13) specific examples why this is so. Along with each example are multiple photographs. Each example has an explanation as to why it's unique and just for fun he considers the "Curse Quotient" for each.

Here's a quick summary of the ten (by all means, please read the article. The photos are great and Lukas offers great detailed insight):

1. The Cubs are the only team to use a embroidered felt appliqué on their batting helmets.

2. The current Cubs team is the only team in baseball history to wear their logo on their pants.

3. The Cubs are the only team in MLB, NFL, NBA, and NHL to have a trademark or circle R symbol on their uniforms.

4. The Cubs' current blue alternate jersey is the only time that the National League logo has appeared on a jersey. No AL team has featured the American League logo.

5. The Cubs are the only MLB team to have the Captain "C" patch on the sleeve.

6. The '72 Cubs are the only team in MLB history to wear their uniform numbers in the center on the uniform fronts.

7. The 60's and 70's Cubs are the only team to write uniform numbers in the middle of the logo on their batting helmets.

8. The 1957 Cubs are the only team to have both city name and team name on the front of th jersey in equal proportions.

9. The 1937 Cubs were the first team to wear zippered jerseys. (see photo above)

9B. The 1940 Cubs were the first eam to wear vests.

9C. The Cubs were the first team to wear pleated pants.

9D. The Cubs were the first team to wear baby blue.

10. The Cubs were the first and only team to wear baby blue jerseys with pinstripes.

If I was paid $1 for every blog post on this site, I could theoretically cash it all in and get a big 'ol one thousand dollar bill. That's right. The unlikely moose blog hit the big 1-o-o-o. (Yesterday's post was #1000.)

I'm rather disappointed by the back of the 1000 dollar bill. If you're gonna leave a big empty space in the middle of the bill with "The United States of America" and "ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS" in the middle, then fill that space up with the text. Make "U.S.A" and "ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS" as big as possible as to say, "HEY! This is the freaking U.S.A. and this is a freaking ONE THOUSAND dollar bill and you're gonna make sure you know it!"

Or just put a nice illustration of some famous landmark in the U.S. back there. Or a famous event in U.S. history like the lunar landing. Mount Rushmore would be cool. It'd be a good way to get all the famous prezzies who already have their images on money onto one bill together. Or just go gangbusters and put all the U.S. Presidents on the back.

Link to higher res image of one thousand bill here. (Don't get any ideas.)

Take your initials and try to make a word or group of words out of them. My initials are EJM which is e-gym. I like the idea of a digital or virtual gym.

Here's a couple others that are interesting:
OKM (my daughter): okay, mmmmmmm (I picture getting a chocolate chip cookie and eating it)
KLM (my sister): climb
KLM (my sister): Kill 'em!
CGL (co-worker): seagull (that's the best one!)


original photo courtesy (sans my addition of "cgl") of evolve.20six.co.uk

I had the pleasure of listening to a few of Georges Bizet's suites from his masterpiece, Carmen, on Chicago's WFMT 98.7 FM during my drive to work this morning. Carmen is one of my favorite classical music pieces partially because I remember my mom playing it when we were kids and I also studied the opera in Humanities 101 in college. (Remember that, Mark?)

The selection I listened to was performed by Les Musiciens du Louvre, conducted by Marc Minkowski. Minkie (as those industry like to call him) relishes Bizet's "rich sonorities and glorious melodies, while at the same time investing them with a serious-minded sensitivity," -- Gramophone [6/2008].

Word on the street is that this is the "finest disc of Carmen and L'Arlésienne suites since Markevitch with the Lamoureux Orchestra," --David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com. Wow! The best since Markevitch's triumphant lead of the Lamoureux's gallant performance. Now that's saying something. Wham, bam, thanka ma'am.

cd available for purchase here. smashing.

I tried giving my daughter a fauxhawk after a bath and her hair isn't long enough yet. I was deeply saddened.

For the first time, I pulled out the usb cord for my new Sony Ericsson w580i. And I absoooooolutely love the smell of the plastic. I reminds me of a certain toy I had as a child. I'm having the hardest time figuring out which toy it is. It's a rubbery kind of plastic. No matter what toy it is (or was), I just can't get enough of that smell.

I just finished off my daughter's whole milk. I'm accustomed to skim milk (or "fat free" milk as they call it nowadays). Whole milk tastes like liquefied cake.

Lately, I've been doing a lot of design for a national bank. Their design approach is clean and open. I enjoy their color palette (PMS 382 and 369) and font family (Trade Gothic). Though a lot of the work has been retirement mailings. Looking up photos of rich seniors on sail boats gets on my nerves after a while.

Just recently I designed a mailer that's going to parents of students. It's much more refreshing to look up classroom photos. The one above is classic (and is royalty-free). They got the perfect kid for the shot. You could really feel his pain.

photo courtesy of gettyimages
photographer: Steven Errico

I just discovered that I like frozen cake. I'm talking about regular ol' cake, not ice cream cake. Though I do love ice cream cake. I really like the texture of the frosting when it gets frozen.

See how the number "3" is different in the photos? Someone is running a scam on ebay.

As a general rule of thumb, never buy autographs on ebay. Sellers can be especially tricky. I caught a crooked seller on ebay. And ebay makes it quite difficult and practically impossible to properly report fake items.

The seller, tim3333, was selling a supposed autographed jersey signed by Hall of Fame baseball star, Ryne Sandberg. tim3333 offered a photograph of Sandberg supposedly autographing the jersey for sale and a photograph of the autographed jersey itself. See photos above.

THE TWO PHOTOS ARE CONFLICTING. The "3" in "23" on the "autographed" jersey is clearly different from the "3" in "23" on the jersey in the photo of Ryne Sandberg signing the jersey.

The alleged autographed jersey has a more rounded "3" while the photograph of Sandberg shows a more sqaure-like "3". Look at the shape of the "3" at the top and bottom of the "3". Then look at the shape on the inside portion of the "3". Upon examining the "3" in "23", it is quite clear that this seller is misleading the public and potentially selling fraudulent merchandise.

The item sold for $262.

Here's the item description that devilish tim3333 used for this item:

"The item up for auction is a hand signed brand new Chicago Cubs jersey by Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg. Ryne signed his name and his number 23 on the 2 and HOF 05 on the 3. The jersey comes with a COA from Bases Loaded Sports and a ticket from the Peoria Chiefs game where Ryne is currently managing and a Peoria Chiefs schedule. I will also include a VOA (Video of Authenticity) which is a video of Ryne signing the jersey in Peoria, IL. The jersey has the numbers and name sown on and are button up just like the ones the pros wear. The autograph is in paint and looks excellent. Shipping will be $10 in the US. Check out my other auctions and ebay store for more Ryne Sandberg autographed items and MLB jerseys."

Perhaps the autographed jersey he is selling is legit. However, it's clear that tim3333 is misleading the public with this combination of photographs. That photo of Sandberg signing a jersey is not the jersey for sale.

Isn't it funny that this tim3333 has not one, not two, but four number "3"s in his user name when it's the "3" in the "23" of this jersey that exposes how his is stealing from people?

ebay item number 230260397734.

There's only two real ways to report fake items to ebay and both ways are really, really lousy.
1. This link lets you report fraudulent autographs, but ebay only allows you to enter the ebay item number. It doesn't allow you to explain why you think it's fraudulent.
2. You can report a fraudulent item here, but you have to be the buyer to report so.

I posted a topic in the "Sports Cards, Memorabilia & Fan Shop" section of the ebay Forums about this crooked Sandberg jersey. It was removed about 10 minutes afterwards.

Here's ebay's policy on autographs. It's good to see that ebay has an official list of "authenticators" that they refuse to sell. But this doesn't go far enough in preventing fake autographs. ebay must do a better job of allowing people to report fake autographs. Otherwise, it's just a matter of buyer-beware.

After Friday's post, I was curious about the official stores of McCain and Obama, specifically the buttons. Political buttons are great fun. McCain's buttons start at $5. Greedy bastard. Obama's buttons start at $2. I was all set to buy the beautiful Obama pin shown above ($2) only to find out the only shipping option offered is UPS which amounts to $7.80. That's not very efficient. $7.80 to ship one lousy button? I know for a fact that to ship one button via USPS does not cost more than $1. I'm very disappointed in all this.

Oh did I only give the link to Obama's button shop and not McCain's? Whoops.

Looking for a way to throw away $200? Then buy the John McCain Nautical Lapel Pin from McCain's very own website.

Each flag is intended to represent the initials of Big Mac: "J"ohn "S"idney "M"cCain. However, their nautical symbolism goes deeper than just initials:

J - Juliet -I am on fire and have dangerous cargo on board: keep well clear of me, or I am leaking dangerous cargo.

S - Sierra - My vessel is stopped and making no way through the water.

M - Mike - I Am Stopped

Uh oh.

story via Madhaus at Daily Kos

Curious to know who would become President of the United States if Bush and Cheney were knocked off? Most of you probably know it would be the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, and that President pro tempore of the Senate, Robert Byrd is next in line. But who's after that and beyond? Below is a list of the Order of Presidential Succession:

* The Vice President Dick Cheney

* Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi

* President pro tempore of the Senate Robert Byrd

* Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice

* Secretary of the Treasury

* Secretary of Defense

* Attorney General

* Secretary of the Interior

* Secretary of Agriculture

* Secretary of Commerce

* Secretary of Labor

* Secretary of Health and Human Services

* Secretary of Housing and Urban Development

* Secretary of Transportation

* Secretary of Energy

* Secretary of Education

* Secretary of Veterans Affairs

* Secretary of Homeland Security

Curious about the order of the Cabinet positions, especially why Sec of Treasury is above Sec of Defense? The cabinet members are ordered in the line of succession according to the date their offices were established. Kinda lame if you ask me, but whatever.

Another interesting factoid that actually inspired this blog post. When the Vice President takes the Office of the President, there is no longer a Vice President. So when Truman, LBJ, and Ford assumed the Presidency they had no Vice President by their side.

Wal-Mart is the best place to buy Chicago Cubs t-shirts. It's always bugs me to see everyone (but Wal-Mart) selling MLB t-shirts for $18, $20, and easily $25 a piece. Wal-Mart has Cubs tees for $9, $12, and $15. Nice. And two or three of them were actually quite nice. I walked out the store with two $12 Cubs shirts. Score.

In all my years of selling art on ebay and Etsy, I have never sold a piece that I felt like I really didn't want to let go. That day finally arrived today.

Last year, I made, "Church of St Luke, Liverpool tribute". It's the first (and so far the only piece) in a series dedicated to destroyed churches particularly of the World War II era. I had experimented minimally with this wood cutting technique before, but this piece was the first where I had a specific idea in mind and it surpassed my expectations on every level. I'm sad to see it go. But I'm happy to welcome the $100 I received for it.

RICK STEVES ROCKS, BUT HARD TO FIND TV TIME
Shout recently asked me what I think of Rick Steves. I decided to make my response into a blog post. I haven't listened to any of his podcasts so I can't offer any insight there. However, I have become a groupie of his television series, "Rick Steves Europe". I'm certain I've watch all the episodes at least three times. Some episodes I've seen maybe 10 times. You should try to catch it some time. I say "catch it", because it's very difficult to find when it's on if you don't have a Tivo. His show appears exclusively on PBS, so check WTTW's and WYCC's schedule (Chicago stations). There's that PBS station from Indiana too. It's usually on during the early, early morning like 3 a.m.

TOP NOTCH VISUALS AND GREAT INFO
The camera work is exceptional. Don't expect crazy camera angles or avant-garde film techniques. The show employs rock-solid composition for each segment. Equal attention is given to the written script. Rick is an accomplished author and the result is an information-rich and visually rich television show. Essentially the show is great for the traveling geek. He always emphasizes history and art with a touch of culture. It's amazing that it's just a three person crew that's on-location. This does translate into helping the show have a more personal feel.

OFF THE BEATEN TRACK
He finds a nice balance between the tourist areas and the off-the-beaten-track stuff. Personally, I'd like to see a travel show that focuses on the touristy areas. All the travel shows I've seen prefer to do off-the-beaten-track stuff. I'd love to have a show that tells me everything I need to know about touristy areas like the House of Parliament in London.

NO EDGE
Lately, I've enjoyed Globe Trekker more than Rick Steves Europe. Globe Trekker has more of an edge. But it's almost comparing apple and oranges because Globe Trekker rarely goes into Europe. Most of the time it's based in remote regions of the world which I'm currently fascinated with. (Every once in a while Globe Trekker goes to the States. Those are the worst episodes by far.) The point of bringing Globe Trekker into this discussion is that it serves as a good point of contrast to Rick Steve's weakness. There's not much drama in Rick Steves Europe. It can be a bit "white bread" most of the time which is fine by me. I want the show to be about Europe, not about the host.

HUNGRY FOR FOOD
I'd say the show's greatest weakness is its lack of attention to food. Restaurants are only featured when there's some sort of historical reference involved. I understand that he avoids profiling restaurants because it immediately puts an expiration date on the episode. Restaurants come and go. But he has little interest in profiling food at all on his show. That disappoints me because I like to eat food when there's a segment on restaurants. It makes me feel like I'm in Europe. Yea, I'm a dork, but it's really a lot of fun.

OTHER EUROPE TRAVEL SHOWS: BURT WOLF
There's two other people who do European travel shows that pale in comparison to Steves. Burt Wolf hosts "Travels and Traditions". It's packed with history, history, history. It's great for that. He does profile food on his show, but it's usually how stuff is made in the kitchen which I really don't want to see in a travel show. For me it's not so much about profiling the food as it is about profiling the experience. Burt can be funny at times, but it's a real dorky funny. And not good dorky. It's bad dorky which can be funny if you're in the right mood. His show is 100% geared towards the 70+ age retired crowd so it can get kinda boring some times even for a history fan like me. He makes Rick "White Bread" Steves look like a spicy hot taco. He also emphasizes the last word of every SENTENCE. It drives me CRAZY. See what I MEAN? I don't mean to rip on Burt so much. I enjoy watching his show very much.

OTHER EUROPE TRAVEL SHOWS: RUDY MAXA
Then there's Rudy Maxa's "The Savvy Traveler". I love slow, boring television. CSPAN is a favorite channel of mine. But I rarely can watch an entire episode of "The Savvy Travler". It's THAT boring. This guy is a stiff. He has no personality and it translates into the entire experience of his show. If Rick Steves is sleepy to you, then Burt Wolf will put you into a nice, deep slumber and Rudy Maxa will put you into a coma. Also keep in mind that the camerawork of "Travels and Traditions" and "The Savvy Traveler" pale in comparison to "Rick Steves Europe".

CONCLUSION
"Rick Steves Europe" is one of my all-time favorite shows. There's loads of info packed into each episode (without going over-the-top) complemented by great visuals. I get the feeling that Rick Steves is an upbeat, friendly, smart, well-educated, good-kind-of-dorky guy that enjoys exploring new places and lives to share those experiences with the world. I'd love to run into Rick at an English pub, share a few pints, and hear his stories. Actually, I think Burt Wolf might be more fun with a few drinks in him. I don't know. I know that both Rick Steves and Burt Wolf could beat the crap out of Rudy Maxa in an Irish bar fight.

Thursday, June 5th's Business section of the Chicago Tribune talked about the woes of renovating Navy Pier. It goes beyond the fact that the children's museum is moving out. Any Chicagoan knows that all of Navy Pier is rather boring and dumpy. It's only saving grace is its location and views of the city and lake.

The biggest problem with Navy Pier is its lack of an identity. It tries being too many things and it doesn't do any of them well. The stupid mini-mall carnival-like shops are a joke. There's only a couple restaurant options none of which are any better than any chain store. The ferris wheel is ok, but nothing notable. The list goes on and on.

Inspiration for what Navy Pier should should be comes from Daniel Burnham who designed Navy Pier formally known as Municipal Pier. His famous quote, "Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men's blood" has become the slogan for Chicago and certainly should apply to this great pier. Currently Navy Pier is just a random collection of little plans. Throw those little plans on the scrap heat. Burn them to dust and start completely anew. Navy Pier easily has the potential to be a world landmark. Its location is the perfect starting ground. It has an awe-inspiring view of the world's greatest skyline set on the lake. How to complement this experience? Easy. Imagine ALL of Navy Pier being the world's greatest greenhouse.

The idea of the urban city neighboring nature is a trademark of Daniel Burnham from which the Navy Pier Greenhouse draws its inspiration. Millions of picture-perfect postcard opportunities would be waiting within and outside the Navy Pier Greenhouse. Imagine a lush tropical setting with the Chicago skyline in the background and the tranquil emerald environment with Lake Michigan gently filling the surroundings. Or simply become consumed in the 3,330 foot long garden complete with meadows, forests, prairies, waterfalls and all that nature offers. It would be a memorable experience for all those who visit.

Of course there's the environmentally-conscious side to all this. Chicago prides itself on its focus to be a world-class green city. The Navy Pier Greenhouse would be the greatest symbol of such. A trademark image of Chicago would become the glistening reflective glow of the Navy Pier Greenhouse settled in Lake Michigan with the broad shoulders of the Chicago skyline proudly looking over this gem.

The leaves are actually solar panels. Despite the appearance in the photo above, the leaves are flexible as shown here.
developed by Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Mitsubishi, and Tokki Corp. I've said it many times before on this blog. Japan rocks.

I developed a solution to my vacuum loudness as touched upon in my blog post on Monday.

First, i put the shop vac on a towel in the basement bathroom, closed the door, walked upstairs to the living room couch and turned on a tivo'd episode of Rick Steves Europe (travel show). That wound up being my testing grounds. I don't want to disturb my wife when she's upstairs watching TV while I'm running the shop vac downstairs.

Then I hung two huge comforters in the bathroom. One comforter covered 1.5 walls and it was folded in half. The other comforter was folded in half and covered 2/3 of the ceiling. And i hung a batman blanket on the door. I went upstairs. I could listen to Rick Steves comfortably at level 9 volume. The vacuum was still quite noticeable however.

Then I took down the comforters and Batman blanket. The vacuum, sitting on a blanket, remained in the bathroom with the door closed. I needed to have the volume at 10 to experience Rick Steves at the same comfort level as before. Not a huge difference, but certainly noticeable.

As a side note, it's a bad idea to cover the vacuum with blanket. Initially I tried that and the vacuum was really hot after a couple minutes even with the exit vent uncovered. The blanket was simply sitting atop the vacuum.

Next, I put the vacuum under my work desk in the basement about 10 feet away from the bathroom. (The bathroom is about 4 feet away from the steps going down to the basement.) Rick Steves required a 10. So, having the vacuum in the closed bathroom with no comforters was exactly the same as having it under my desk with no comforters.

Finally, I set up some MDF boards around the desk on two open sides. The third open side is completely blocked by a couch. The fourth open side is where I sit. Then I covered the MDF and underside of the desk with a comforter folded in half. The other comforter was placed on top of some boxes under the desk.

Rick Steves could be heard at level 8 and the vacuum was barely noticeable! SUCCESS! The space under the desk turned out to be the perfect size. I was able to sound proof the entire space with two comforters, an exisiting couch, and 4 pieces of MDF.

Plus there should be enough room so the vacuum won't overheat, though my legs will probably get toasty under the desk. And I can go do my work at my work desk which is a natural working space. When I had the comforters set up the bathroom, I tested out the space by dremeling some painted mat board. It got really hot in there with the vacuum running (even with the bathroom vent running.) There's no windows in that room. It's about a 4 1/2 foot by 6 foot space. I felt like I was in a prison cell.

The soundproofed work desk is gonna do just fine. I've been itching to dremel in the basement for a long time.

I decided to retire my Motorola v220. It was a good phone. It's been in my possession for about 2 1/2 years (or maybe even 3 1/2 years). It's held up very well with minor wear. I took a fair amount of photos on it once I decided to purchase DataPilot about a year ago to download this cameraphone's photos. (Mac users can't download with the v220's provided software.)

My wife upgraded her ancient phone about a month or two ago. I kinda wanted to shop around service plans, but she wanted to stick with at&t. She handles the bills, so that was that. We were already committed to at&t for another two years so I began to look into upgrading my phone.

Plus, I've been taking more and more spur of the moment photos of my 12 month old daughter with the v220 and I'm not really happy with the 640x480 image size. The charm of VGA is great, but it has its limits. And the v220 could hold only about 45 photos. (no memory card expansion).

Enter in the Sony Ericsson w580i (black version). I was surprised to see it was "free" at Best Buy with a two year at&t contract. att.com is selling it for $30 with a two-year plan. I did wind up paying an $18 upgrade charge. So much for "free". I hate that. But 18 bucks ain't bad for what I get.

2 megapixel camera (The first digital camera I bought back in 1999 was a 2 megapixel Nikon Coolpix 950. It was honking huge. Not that the imaging chip on the w580i matches the 950, but I'll be able to get 4x6" sorta semi-decent prints out of this cameraphone)

176x144 pixels video camera (incredibly small, but better than nuthin)

3.9" x 1.85" x 0.55" (half as thick as my v220)

Memory Stick Micro (M2) slot (now I can take hundreds of photos without download)

FM radio (no AM which I would love, but no one offers AM radio)

MP3 player (not sure if i'll use this)

and it can flip through songs or something when you shake the phone (ooooooook)

I especially like that it's a slider phone that reveals the lens when slid out. This way the lens is protected when not in use.

Oh and it has Pac-Man on it. Pac-Man kinda sealed the deal. (yes, I could buy video games for my phone, but I don't like paying money for cell phone games. My v220 had stupid games like Bejeweled.)

Anyone know of a website that shows the decibel rating for vacuum cleaners? I would like to know. Here's an IM conversation my brother and I had about this topic. Our solution was to turn my basement restroom into a restroom/recording studio/workshop.

erik: do you know how to measure decibals?

matt: how to measure decibels? i'd imagine you need some sort of tool

erik: nobody lists decibals when showing specs for a vacuum.

matt: how about how much energy it uses?
matt: the watts
matt: i wonder if that consumer reports does decibels on vacuums
matt: it's funny how you spell it decibals
matt: it's like you are from the south
matt: HOW MANY DECI-BALLS DO THIS SUCKER HAVE?

erik: Samsung claims to have "the world's quiest vacuum" at 75 db. I found a review where the best vacuum was 75 (not the samsung). The loudest was around 90. i closed the window on that review
erik: i want a vacuum to use in the basement with my dremel, but i don't want something too loud. I bought one last week at target for $20. The packaging said it was "quiet". They had other vacuums by the same manufacturer that didn't say "quiet" on the packaging so I figured this little guy was truly quiet. Well, it ain't. It's a tiny, tiny shop vac. It holds one gallon. It's cute, but loud. I might try wrapping it in foam or something.

matt: you could make a sound proof room
matt: a little closet
matt: with foam all around

erik: i know someone who did that. He would take all the styrofoam from my office. He was like a wild dog every time he saw some form of foam.

matt: and then we could record podcasts in there

erik: ha
erik: where in the house do you propose to do this?
erik: the basement bathroom?
erik: that'd be funny
erik: though cleaning up might be a problem
erik: i'd tell people, "yea, it's a workshop/recording studio/bathroom"
erik: lmao

matt: you could tell people you wanted your bathroom to be soundproof, so people couldn't hear your atomic farts

erik: andrea never uses that bathroom. she won't care.
erik: i might be crazy, but your idea is actually starting to make a lot of sense to me.
erik: There's an outlet in that room, so I have power to run the vacuum.
erik: i could take a dump and use my dremel at the same time!
erik: Imagine all the time I would save!

matt: that sounds dangerous

erik: ooooooh
erik: eeeeeek
erik: uuuuuuuh
erik: ooooooouch
erik: too bad foam is so expensive
erik: this will be my blog post for today

Leftovers for dinner. What to eat? I grabbed a hot dog bun, petite red potatoes, and potato chips and the Tim Russert sandwich was born. When I gave this sandwich its name I thought the potatoes were Russert potatoes, but my wife corrected me. The name of this sandwich remains the same just because.

I don't necessarily recommend you make a Tim Russert sandwich anytime soon. It was incredibly bland and not that special.

file under: why didn't i think of that. It's a Powerbook taken apart and reassembled onto a corkboard complete with thumbtacks holding up the components. The corkboard Mac.

thanks, gearfuse.com

I'm really digging gearfuse.com. It's helping me catch up with blog posts for the last week of May. Here's a giant ceiling clock.

via gearfuse
I'm pulling the following quote from gearfuse, because I think it's hilarious:

"The above video of the classic NES game Tecmo Bowl is not rigged with any Game Genies or codes. What you see is former Raiders powerhouse Bo Jackson. Bo may have ended his career in football with a tackle that screwed up his hip, but the man of speed and strength lives on in this amazing video game.

Witness the haste with which Bo moves. I think I just pitched a tent."

I add this: Bo rocks

The song on the new Bud Light Lime commerical is "Creator" by Santogold. You can listen to the entire song here. About 14 seconds into the song has a wicked high-pitch, fast paced, video game sound to it. IT'S A-W-E-S-O-M-E-! Unfortunately, this rip doesn't get much sound time in the rest of the song.

Want to know the official Pantone colors of the United States flag? It's Pantone 186 and Pantone 288.

According to United States Embassy Stockholm:
The U.S. Government Printing Office specifies Pantone 186 and 288 for the red and blue colors of the United States flag, but Pantone specifies Pantone 193 and 281. Other sources specify Pantone 282 for blue.

I side with the U.S. Government Printing Office. I'd think they'd have the final word. Pantone is a bit cocky to think otherwise. Typical of Pantone.

My brother's blog post featuring a video he took from the Chicago El inspired me to write this review for the best mini-mini digital still/video camera on the market. It's a great camera for the price, but it certainly comes with its flaws.

You may be wondering, "what does this guy know about digital cameras?". Go to my blog home page and look for the search bar in the left column and search for "camera". Some of those posts include:
"the best consumer video camera for Mac users" (my most famous camera-related post)
"Nikon D40x, D80, D300 comparison"
"coolest digital camera ever"
"now that's a digital camera"

Let me introduce the Vistaquest VQ1005. It's $20 at WalMart. WalMart is the only place I have seen this camera (other than a few online retailers). There's a fair amount of novelty/toy digital cameras out there. There are two things that makes the Vistaquest VQ1005 better than the rest: SD card capability and AAA battery.

MEMORY CARDS
The Vistaquest VQ1005 is the only novelty digital camera (for under $30) I found that takes memory cards. There's three advantages to this.

1: Other cameras store the photos on internal memory. If the battery dies or is removed, then your photos die with it. This is not the case with SD cards on the Vistaquest VQ1005. If your camera battery dies or is accidentally removed, your photos are still stored on your SD card.

2: Having SD allows you to take vitually unlimited photos. The internal memory chip on other novelty cameras is usually only 8MB. That translates to about 30 photos. A 512MB SD card lets you take hundreds of photos and videos. (This camera does have 8 MB internal memory if you choose not to use an SD card.)

3: Mac users are welcome to join the game. Just about all novelty digital cameras are Windows only. Having a SD slot allows Mac users to shoot to SD and then download the photos directly off the SD card via the USB port on the camera. (No third party card reader is necessary. No software is required to install.)

BATTERY
This camera takes one AAA battery. I prefer AAA over proprietary batteries because AAA are easier to replace. Buy a novelty camera with a proprietary battery and you'll find yourself forking over $5 or $10 to replace the battery assuming the camera allows for easy battery replacement. I can not speak to the lifespan of proprietary batteries on novelty cameras.

Now with that said, the Vistaquest VQ1005 does gobble up AAA batteries like mad. I'd say I could get 20-40 photos until the battery dies. It's a good idea to use rechargeable AAA batteries.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Make sure that you don't leave a battery in the camera for too long. I left a battery in my Vistaquest VQ1005 and the battery connectors started to corrode and now my Vistaquest VQ1005 is dead. The last time I used the camera was in mid-October. I tried using it in mid-April. That was a 6 month span of non-use with a battery installed that caused it to corrode.

IMAGE SIZE
The advertised image size for the Vistaquest VQ1005 is 1.3 megapixels (1280 x 960). However, it's a bit of a pain to shoot at that size. When the camera is powered on, the default size is 640 x 480. You have to hit the tiny button on the back about three or four times to change the size to 1280 x 960. Once you take a 1280 x 960 photo, you have to hit that button again three or four times to get back to that size. It always sets the default to VGA (640x480).

IMAGE QUALITY
It's awesome for a $20 camera. Sunny photos have a nice, saturated look to them. It reminds me of the trademark saturated look that 8mm films have. I love that aesthetic. Here's just one example of a photo I took while driving my car. Of course if you have access to Photoshop, you can magnify the saturated nature of the photos like this shot. It's the very first photo I took with my VQ1005. I have loved the camera ever since.

Remember this camera is only 20 bucks. So don't expect a flash or any settings options. The lens is fixed at f/2.8 which is fine for this sort of thing. The slowest shutter speed is 1/15 sec which is fine too. Any slower of a shutter speed and you'll get blurry photos. This camera won't work wonders indoors. Photos will be extremely dark from indoors. Do not plan on using this camera indoors.

MOVIE
The weird thing about the movie function is that the length of the movie is always a guessing game. Some times it will take 35 second videos. Some times it takes 20 second videos. Most of the time it's somewhere in between those times.

Just like the still camera, the movie is best suited for outdoors. Here's a string of videos I took that show it from indoors and outdoors. The camera is quite shakey outdoors cuz I took the video while I was walking.

WEBCAM
I know nothing about the webcam other than it only works on Windows. Mac users are out of luck of which I am one.

CONCLUSION
Looking for a fun little toy camera to keep in your glove compartment? Or do you want to take quick little videos at the ball park without hauling around a larger camera? Look at the Vistaquest VQ1005. It's only 2.4" x 1.5" x 0.8". I like the rich deep colors better than my VGA Motorola V220 camera phone. However, I find myself taking more photos with my camera phone simply because I can preview and review the photos with my camera phone's LCD screen. No such luck with the Vistaquest VQ1005. But the VQ1005 does take better movies than any affordable camera phone. Someday the market will offer affordable camera phones with better movie capabilities, but that day has not arrived yet.

It's $20 at WalMart, but plan on buying rechargeable AAA batteries or budget yourself a big pack of standard AAA batteries. And look for an SD card if you're a mac user and/or if you want to be able to take 30+ photos on the camera and have no worries about the losing the photos.

-------------------------------------------

VISTAQUEST VQ1005 SPECS:

price: $20 at WalMart

still camera: 1.3 megapixels (1280 x 1024)
video camera: 320 x 240 / 20 frames per second

max shutter speed: 1/500 sec
min shutter speed: 1/15 sec

exposure mode: automatic
white balance: automatic

lens: f/2.8 (fixed)
minimum focus range: 35.4"

internal memory: 8 MB
memory: SD (SD card not included)

auto power save
no tripod mount
no flash
no LCD image preview or review

supported OS: XP, 2000, ME, 98 (this is for internal memory only. Mac users can use the SD slot. See review above. Webcam function is Windows only.)

dimensions: 2.4" x 1.5" x 0.8"

Oh no! Someone wrecked the magic carpet for internet ants!